Janeczko (A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, p. 411, etc.) advocates using poetry in the classroom daily, and teachers who are introducing the concept of point of view will find some unique ways to get the point across through these poems. The poets represented here can hear anthropomorphic voices in some pretty odd places: curtains, a snowflake, a crayon, and the source of the title—a pile of dirty laundry. Other poems give voice to animals, trees, kites, the winter wind, and three machines that relate to the dirty laundry: a washing machine, a broom, and a vacuum cleaner. Well-known poets such as Karla Kuskin, Lilian Moore, Jane Yolen, Douglas Florian, and Bobbi Katz are represented, along with less familiar poets. Sweet’s watercolor illustrations help bring each poem to life with dancing brooms, a menacing vacuum cleaner, and a poignant horse waiting for a blanket and a carrot. Younger children will enjoy the poems simply as funny or touching poetry, but older students will begin to see the poetic possibilities in the unexplored voices of the inanimate. Janeczko has a wide following through his own poetry collections, anthologies, and books on writing poetry, so this collection should find a ready audience, especially in school libraries. (Poetry. 7-11)
Pub Date: June 30, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-16251-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
In previous works Smith has extolled the virtues of basketball; here he turns his attention to baseball. See the game from behind the catcher’s mask. Hear the “pop, scratch, whiff, and whack” of the ball, bat, and glove in intimate contact. Say those wonderfully evocative baseball phrases like, “swing for the fences,” and “hit ‘em where they ain’t.” Read about the braggart “dominator” who strikes out, and the wonderful excuses like, “the second baseman tripped me.” There is also the poignant moment when the father can no longer play catch with his son. Although some of the pieces are not strictly poetry, they read with a poetic flow and rhythm. Smith’s keen ear is matched by his sharp eye. Many of the color photographs are close-ups that focus on a particular action. The graphic presentation of the text highlights the key words and gives them motion. A sheer delight for every fan. (Poetry. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-439-43180-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
McCue’s clean-lined, brightly colored close-ups of smiling birds, all in natural settings framed by garlands of vines, flowers or patterned ribbons, will draw children to these 27 impish rhymes, each of which celebrates a particular kind of bird. Sandwiched between a woodpecker’s “Wake Up” and the night hawk’s “Nighty-Night,” Spinelli travels from the tropics to Antarctica, backyards to deserts, ocean to urban canyons, offering an occasional dud—addressing a blue-footed booby: “Do show off your skills / as a catcher of fish. / Do whistle. Do waddle. / Then— / do what you wish”—but more often taking flight: “Dizzy-dazzle thrumming bird. / No bigger-than-my-thumb-ing bird. / A silky, summer-strumming bird.” This lively companion to the likes of Kate Kiesler’s Wings on the Wind (2002) and Douglas Florian’s ever-clever On the Wing (1996) finishes with sketchy endnotes that elaborate on information delivered in the verses. (Poetry. 7-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-8050-6713-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
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